Heartless: Difference between revisions

After he escapes to [[Traverse Town]], Sora meets [[Leon]] and [[Yuffie]], who explains to him the nature of the Heartless and tell him his Keyblade both draws them to him and is the best weapon against them. This leads Sora to fight the Heartless alongside [[Donald Duck]] and [[Goofy]], in an effort to save the worlds.  

Sora eventually learns that the Heartless are being used by Maleficent to capture the seven Princesses of Heart and open the door to Kingdom Hearts so that she and her allies can rule over all worlds. However, Ansem, possessing Riku's body, uses the [[Keyblade of heart]] to drown Maleficent in her own darkness and transform her into her dragon form. After she is destroyed by Sora, Ansem reveals that, like the other villains, she was being used by the Heartless.

After Maleficent and Ansem's defeat, the Heartless run wild without a guiding will behind them, although villains like [[Pete]] are able to summon and control small groups of them. As a Keyblade-wielding member of Organization XIII, [[Roxas]] is often sent on missions to defeat them and collect hearts. During one of his early missions, [[Marluxia]] introduces Roxas to fighting Heartless, explaining to him the difference between Pureblood Heartless, which contains no hearts, and Emblem Heartless, which release hearts upon defeat. He tells Roxas that the hearts he collects will gather to form Kingdom Hearts, the ultimate goal of the Organization. Marluxia and [[Zexion]] emphasize the importance of Roxas's role in collecting hearts for the Organization's purposes. [[Xemnas]] creates [[Xion]] to duplicate Roxas's abilities, as a failsafe should Roxas have proved inadequate for the purpose of collecting hearts.

Before beginning Sora and Riku's [[Mark of Mastery exam]], Yen Sid explains that the [[Dream Eater]]s are manifestations of darkness that serve as the [[Sleeping Worlds]]' counterpart to the Heartless.

Ienzo reveals to [[Lea]] that when a Heartless and Nobody is destroyed and their hearts find their vessels, they are returned to the place they became a Heartless and Nobody. However, if that world is destroyed or otherwise unavailable, they would appear in Traverse Town.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''''', '''Ienzo''': "When someone who's lost their heart is completed, they should return to the place where it happened. And if that world is unavailable for whatever reason, a refuge is made for them in the realm between—a world called "Traverse Town". They would be sent there."</ref>

To further their research into Heartless, as well as the [[Keyblade]] and the [[Princesses of Heart]], the apprentices cast off their bodies and surrendered their hearts to darkness, giving birth to their Heartless and Nobodies. Against expectations, [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]] retained his human form{{storylink|Ansem Report 12}}, as did the apprentices' [[Organization XIII|Nobodies]]. Eventually, the witch [[Maleficent]] learned of the Heartless and began using them in her quest for power, and gave them power to lead the Heartless to those who joined her in her quest.  

During this time, whether from the machinations of Ansem's apprentices of Maleficent herself, the Heartless became able to invade the Realm of Light at their own choosing, and whole worlds began disappearing to the darkness.

In general, Heartless are beastly creatures with yellow, beady eyes. Pureblood Heartless are the more primitive, using more chaotic fighting styles. They are ink-black in color and have an antenna.     

Emblem Heartless, on the other hand, were originally created from a machine designed to reproduce the process of a heart being consumed by darkness.<ref>'''''[[Secret Ansem's Report 5]]''''': "The six traitors were operating a laboratory that churned out those cursed shadows. Not only did they generate "pureblood" Heartless from living hearts, but they then used those Heartless to synthesize artificial versions of the creatures as well. These synthetic Heartless bore insignias and were called "Emblems." Pureblood or Emblem, these Heartless act only to fulfill their instinctive needs. They single-mindedly detect hearts and swarm around them."</ref> Once that machine was activated, most stolen hearts become Emblems, provided they contain darkness. They are more common on the worlds within the Realm of Light, and usually mimic the shape of creatures or objects within that world. The machine fell into disuse after ''[[Kingdom Hearts (game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'', due to the [[Villains]] losing the control of Hollow Bastion. However, powerful Emblem Heartless has also been shown to be created directly from [[Storm Rider|a dragon from the Land of Dragons]], [[Skoll|Prince Hans]] and [[Grim Guardianess|Mother Gothel]].

Heartless – Emblem or Pureblood – possess several key characteristics that define them as Heartless. Pureblood Heartless is generated naturally from the darkness within people's hearts. Heartless is born when a heart is consumed by the darkness within it, or when a Heartless steals the heart. They can also be drawn out by a dark being like [[Maleficent]] or a source of dark power like the [[Keyblade of heart]].<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''' "As Yen Sid says in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', the Heartless cannot be separated from the darkness in people's hearts, and have been around for a long time. Beings of darkness can draw out the darkness in the heart, so Master Xehanort could summon the Neoshadows with his own hands. In the same way, when Xehanort and Ansem the Wise's students begin to perform the first experiments on the darkness of the heart, artificial Heartless were created in large numbers."</ref> This process will occasionally also form [[Nobodies]], which are born from the body and soul left behind when the heart is lost.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Yen Sid:''' "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will---be they evil or good---becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own."</ref> Being born from darkness, they are mindless and act on instinct; because of such, their only goal is stealing more hearts to turn into Heartless. But what they desire above all are the hearts of worlds, and thus they enter worlds in search of the way into the hearts of the worlds. When they consume these colossal hearts, the remains of the world form new worlds, such as [[Traverse Town]] and [[End of the World]].

At the same time, Heartless seek out the users of the Keyblade, since the Keyblade holds the power to lock and unlock hearts.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Leon:''' "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."</ref> If a Heartless is slain by a Keyblade, it will reunite with the body and soul it left behind if it isn't currently a Nobody. In order to stop the users of the Keyblades, the Heartless use the Keyblade itself as a homing beacon, but ultimately desire to take the heart that commands it. Because of this, Keyblade wielders are under constant attack. Magic can also destroy Heartless, but only temporarily; after losing her Keyblade briefly, [[Xion]] explains this fact to [[Roxas]] and [[Axel]].{{fact}}

The Heartless, being mindless, usually have no master to direct their actions and instead act on the instinct to consume more hearts. However, there are some higher beings who can command them. Heartless will obey those with an affinity for darkness and a strong will. If many people attempt to control them, the Heartless will side with whoever is most powerful.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Saïx:''' "The Heartless ally with whoever's the strongest."</ref> However, those with hearts, such as Maleficent, endanger themselves, as the Heartless are attracted to their hearts and if they show weakness, the Heartless will not hesitate to consume their hearts.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Maleficent:''' "Don't steep yourself in darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless."</ref>

According to the [[Ansem's Reports]], a Keyblade can lock the heart of a world away from the Heartless forever. However, this does not keep the Heartless out of the world; it simply prevents them from destroying it. The citizens of the world remain fair game to the Heartless. Although the [[Door to Darkness]] was sealed, the Heartless continue to exist naturally in fewer numbers due to the darkness still existing in people's hearts. However, evil beings such as Pete and Organization XIII seek to create abnormally strong Heartless by forcing beings with strong hearts to succumb to darkness. Thus increasing the threat of the Heartless pose.

The primary weapon for destroying the Heartless is the Keyblade, as it is both especially suited for manipulating the bonds between heart, body, and soul which create Heartless, and it is the only object able to thwart the Heartless in their goal of devouring a world's heart. However, in the absence of the Keyblade, there are several other options. Magic is effective against the Heartless, as are magical weapons. In either situation, invading Heartless can be made disorganized by defeating the major Heartless which leads them, or the dark heart which attracted them to that world. While this does not by any means purge the world of its Heartless, it gives no small respite from their threat. Emblem Heartless that are destroyed by a Keyblade release the heart within them, sending it to a [[Kingdom Hearts]] where it waits for its body and soul to be freed so that the person it once was can be woken once again.

The Heartless reside wherever darkness is abundant, especially the Realm of Darkness. However, they also reside in places such as the End of the World, a collection of the remnants of worlds that are located near the darkness. Another area that the Heartless live in is The World That Never Was, the world of the Nobodies that rests dangerously close to the darkness upon which the Heartless thrive.

The forces of the Heartless were extremely weakened after the door to Kingdom Hearts was sealed off, though there were still many lefts. It should be noted though that Yen Sid has mentioned that the only true way to destroy all Heartless is to have all people have light-filled in their hearts and no darkness, leaving nothing to create a Heartless or something for them to thrive for.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Goofy:''' "But if people have light in their hearts, the Heartless would go away!"</ref>

[[Category:Heartless]]